Sunday, March 27, 2016

You can find this column with music and links to the readings and songs can on the St. Mary’s
website at www.stmarysnutley.org and follow the banner link to Music (Liturgical Notes).

First a brief explanation of the what, who and why I write this column each week.

I write on the connection between the music and the day’s readings. It’s what I do.

From time to time, I add a little bit about myself, beginning with being an altar server at St. Mary
Mother of Jesus parish in Brooklyn through nearly 40 years as a church musician. What I do
makes up a large part of who I am.

Every one in a while, and sometimes for the period of a few weeks I get a little philosophical
(Some might call it inspired. Others might call it preachy.)

Whichever it is, the scripture proclaimed each week moves me. This is the why, the Who does
what he does. (My apologies to Dr. Seuss.)

Throughout all of this I wonder about you. What brings you to St. Mary’s today?

Is it a life-long faithfulness to Sunday worship or maybe even daily mass? Is it a persistent desire
to deepen your connection with (or reconnect with) God?

Do you come relaxed and ready? Or have you just raced and ranted to make sure an entire
family is dressed, fed and (close to) on time? Perhaps you are wishing that a family member who
is not with you had accompanied you today.

I wonder about the twists and turns, the bumps and pitfalls that you have passed through on your
way through the doors of St. Mary’s today.

So what about the readings?

If you are reading this during the Triduum (Holy Thursday, good Friday or Holy Saturday) you will
have a deeper experience of what leads up to that Easter morning where Christ rises from the
dead. If not, you can still look at these readings beginning on page 104.

In the first reading on Easter Sunday, (found on page 148) Peter preaches about Jesus’ death and
resurrection. He exhorts the early disciples (and us) to testify to Jesus death for the forgiveness
of sins.

As you take a look at today’s gospel (page 151) try for a moment to suspend what you know.
Consider Mary of Magdala at the tomb. Mary is both literally and figuratively in the dark. She
doesn’t rejoice and say, “Alleluia, He is risen.” Instead, she frantically runs to Peter and John
saying “They have taken the Lord from the tomb and we don’t know where they put him.”

I suspect at times many of us fall somewhere between Peter and Mary of Magdala. The song that
says it best for me: Resucito’ (#177) was composed by artist, philosopher, musician and founder
of the Neocatechumenal Way, Francisco (Kiko) Arguello.

The song expresses our movement from the trepidation and uncertainty that we share with Mary
of Magdala to the joy of witnessing to Christ’s resurrection that the first Pope has challenged the
church to share since its’ very beginning almost 2000 years ago.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Welcome to my blog post. What you are reading is an online adaptation of what I write in the weekly bulletin at church. (For more about me and the church I serve, see the widget on the side of the page or go to the St. Mary's homepage.)

My goal in writing this weekly column is twofold: 1. To highlight the connection between the readings of the day and the music that will be sung at St. Mary's.2. To enhance your "take-away" from liturgy by encouraging you to to preview and ponder the week’s readings before attending liturgy.

Today, Christians around the world observe Palm Sunday, the day commemorating Jesus’ passion and death.

One of the unique parts of the Palm Sunday liturgy is the proclamation of Luke's account of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. (Luke 19:28-40) This additional proclamation of the gospel provides the historic basis for why we receive and raise our palm branches at the beginning of the liturgy. Click on the following link to see all of today's scripture.

Our prelude, (He Is Exalted) entrance hymn (The Children of Jerusalem) and singing of the Gloria underscore Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

The tenor of the music quickly changes in Psalm 22 which foretell the words of Our Savior on the cross: "My God, My God, Oh why have you abandoned me?"

We then we hear the remainder of the story of Jesus’ passion, beginning with the agony in the garden and ending with His burial in the tomb. During this second gospel passage we will intersperse the spiritual "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?"

Our participation in this yearly ritual affirms our “yes” to the question of the song. We are the crowd that greets Jesus with shouts of "Hosanna" and "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord." We also the ones who say "Crucify Him" as we affirm that Christ died for our sinfulness.

The offertory and communion song will vary depending on which liturgy you attend. You may hear Twila Paris' "How Beautiful." (You are hearing the composer as you open this blog.) You might also hear Gilbert M. Martin’s arrangement of Lowell Mason’s hymn "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" or even Andrew Lloyd Webber's Pie Jesu. My goal in picking this music is to capture the pathos of Our Lord’s crucifixion and to follow His command to we His disciples not be silent.

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It is wonderful that many Christians feel moved to return to church on Palm Sunday.My prayer is that:

Thursday, March 10, 2016

It’s Monday morning; the day that
I write and submit what you are reading right now. I take my first few sips of coffee and begin
to reread the day’s scripture readings.
I then look at the music that I planned a few months ago. Then, a little
walk around the living room. One reason
for this walk is related to procrastination, but the other is to allow the Holy
Spirit (and the coffee) some time to do what they do.

As I walk, I recall something
that came across my Facebook feed late last night. It was a picture of some of the girls with
whom I went to grammar school dressed up for a Downton Abbey Finale
party. Don’t worry I will not spoil
anything for those who have yet to watch the finale.

Despite the many friends who rave
about it (including some staff members here at St. Mary’s) I have very little
interest in Downton Abbey.

I am however, very interested in
how television shows capture our attention, stir our imagination and influence
our daily lives to the point of dressing up and quoting the character’s lines. (BTW I have 7 words for some of you who are smugly
shaking your heads, thinking that the Abbeyer’s (or is it Abbots?) are
crazy: May the force be with you….NOT!

Today we hear part 5 of the
Lenten story. But first let’s look back
to some recent “episodes.” (Click on the title to link to the days readings at the US Catholic Bishops homepage.)

The Baptism of the Lord (or, what I call the prequel) Jesus begins his mission.Lent I: Jesus goes into the desert to discern this
mission and is tempted by Satan. Lent II Atop Mt. Tabor with Peter, James and John, Jesus is transfigured while being blessed
by the same voice heard from the clouds during the prequel.

On Lent III, IV, and V we hear
stories that tell us about God and God’s mercy.

Lent III The gardener obtains a
stay of execution for the non-producing fig-tree. Lent IV The moving parable of the
prodigal son and his Father who responds with joy when the son who was dead to
him returns.

Many of you, particularly
those of Italian descent will recognize the severity of the phrase “dead to
me.”

Today, Lent V we hear one more
story of reconciliation and mercy; a story often referred to as The Woman
Caught in Adultery.* Here is what our
Holy Father, Pope Francis says directly about this gospel:

“The
first and only step required to experience mercy….is to acknowledge that we are
in need of mercy. Jesus comes for us,
when we recognize that we are sinners.”

Here are two of today's musical selections which speak to a God who calls us to a deeper relationship i.e. to "Come home." 1. Hosea is a gem written by
Gregory Norbet OSB. Click on the link to see and hear a slide presentation using it as a background posted by maryelizabethanne2.

2. Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling is the song you are listening to right now. You can see and hear it by click on the following link. Softly and Tenderly (Gaither VEVO)

I invite you pray the words while
singing or listening to these preludes as you prepare to meet our God who
becomes present in Word and Sacrament.

* (note: At the 12 noon liturgy the cycle A
gospel of the Raising of Lazarus will be proclaimed.)

****

One last quote from a Downton
Abbey fan as it relates to my work both here and on my blog (Which you can find
by going to the parish website at www.stmarysnutley.org
.)

“It’s
a little different at first but once you watch an episode or two and get to
know the characters; you’re hooked.”

What might
happen if we were to read scripture similarly?

Blessed to be serving at St. Mary’s,

Bruce

P.S.

The summit of the Liturgical Year is the Easter
Triduum from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday.
Though chronologically three days, they are liturgically one day unfolding for
us the unity of Christ's Paschal Mystery.

Mark your calendars and commit to spending
about three hours during holy week.

Friday, March 4, 2016

Be sure to have your sound on to hear "My Son Has Gone Away" a beautiful song written by Bob Dufford S.J. the composer of Be Not Afraid.

"God
awaits us with open arms;

we need only take a step toward him like the Prodigal
Son.

But if, weak as we are,

we don’t
have the strength to take that step,

just the desire to take it is enough.”

The
Name of God is Mercy: by Pope Francis

The fourth
Sunday of lent is known as “Laetare” Sunday because the opening prayer begins “Laetare Jerusalem.” (Rejoice Jerusalem)As on Gaudete Sunday (Gaudete also means
rejoice) the church reminds us that we are halfway through the season and calls
us to press forward.

The prelude
“Enter the Journey” (#651) will be sung at the 12 noon liturgy on each of the 3rd,
4th and 5th Sundays in lent.It is an affirmation of our support of the Catechumens and their journey to initiation in the sacraments of the church at
the Easter vigil.

The gospel is
the story of the man born blind.The
irony of its ending contains an important lesson:The blind man regains his sight and believes
while religious leaders refuse to believe and are left in the dark.Our offertory song, Open My Eyes (#391) directly relates to this gospel.It was chosen as a prayer that our eyes, ears, hearts and minds be open
to the presence of God.

Cycle C readingsThe gospel for
Cycle C is the story of the Prodigal Son. In addition to the quote at the beginning of this article, Pope Francis
makes two interesting observations about this gospel.The first pertains to the son’s primary
motivation which is his physical hunger. The second is the response of the
father who on catching sight of the son “was
filled with compassion (and)…ran to the son, embraced him and kissed him."The Holy Father uses this and other
parables to describe a God who is overjoyed when we accept His love and mercy.

If you come
attend the 5:30 or 9 a.m. liturgy you will be in for a musical treat.Our cantor John Luland will be singing and
playing My Son Has Gone Away This
song, written by Bob Dufford SJ (the composer of Be Not Afraid) is a most
beautiful and haunting rendition which describes the sadness of the father
prior to the Son’s return. In the song,
the father sings interchangeably to his son and “Jerusalem” which Jesus used as
a metaphor for the people of God.See all of the music selections by following the links:Lent IV (March 6) Music at St. Mary'sLent V (March 13) Music at St. Mary's

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My passion is to inspire, educate and empower the congregation I serve.
The primary purpose of this page is to promote music's integral role in Roman Catholic liturgy and its supporting role in the preaching of the Good News.